His Defence Against the Idle Critick
The Ryme nor marres, nor makes,Nor addeth it, nor takes,From that which we propose;Things imaginarieDoe so strangely varie,That quickly we them lose.
And what 's quickly begot,As soone againe is not,This doe I truely know:Yea, and what 's borne with paine,That Sense doth long'st retaine,Gone with a greater Flow.
Yet this Critick so sterne,But whom, none must discerne,Nor perfectly haue seeing,Strangely layes about him,As nothing without himWere worthy of being.
That I my selfe betrayTo that most publique way,Where the Worlds old Bawd,Custome, that doth humor,And by idle rumor,Her Dotages applaud.
That whilst he still prefersThose that be wholly hers,Madnesse and Ignorance,I creepe behind the Time,From spertling with their Crime,And glad too with my Chance.
O wretched World the while,When the euill most vile,Beareth the fayrest face,And inconstant lightnesse,With a scornefull slightnesse,The best Things doth disgrace.
Whilst this strange knowing Beast,Man, of himselfe the least,His Enuie declaring,Makes Vertue to descend,Her title to defend,Against him, much preparing.
Yet these me not delude,Nor from my place extrude,By their resolued Hate;Their vilenesse that doe know;Which to my selfe I show,To keepe aboue my Fate.
Words in this poem
- propose v. i.
- To speak; to converse.
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- bawd n.
- A person who keeps a house of prostitution, or procures women for a lewd purpose; a procurer or procuress; a lewd person; -- usually applied to a woman. [OE. baude, OF. balt, baut, baude, bold, merry, perh. fr. OHG. bald bold; or fr. Celtic, cf. W. baw dirt. Cf. Bold, Bawdry.]
- extrude v. t.
- To thrust out; to force, press, or push out; to expel; to drive off or away. [L. extrudere, extrusum; ex out + trudere to thrust, akin to E. threat. See Threat.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
His Defence Against the Idle Critick is in the public domain. This text is taken from Minor Poems of Michael Drayton, Project Gutenberg ebook #17873; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Michael Drayton, His Defence Against the Idle Critick, in Minor Poems (1594–1619), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17873, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drayton-minor-poems/his-defence-against-the-idle-critick.html, id L02744.
Form and metre
His Defence Against the Idle Critick is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA-BB- makesA · takesA · propose · imaginarieB · varieB · lose
- 2 --ABBA begot · not · knowA · paineB · retaineB · flowA
- 3 AABCCB sterneA · discerneA · seeingB · himC · himC · beingB
- 4 AABCCB betrayA · wayA · bawdB · humorC · rumorC · applaudB
- 5 AABCCB prefersA · hersA · ignoranceB · timeC · crimeC · chanceB
- 6 AABCCB whileA · vileA · faceB · lightnesseC · slightnesseC · disgraceB
- 7 AABCCB beastA · leastA · declaringB · descendC · defendC · preparingB
- 8 AABCCB deludeA · extrudeA · hateB · knowC · showC · fateB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The Ryme nor marres, nor makes, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor addeth it, nor takes, | 6 | ······ |
| From that which we propose; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Things imaginarie | 6 | ······ |
| Doe so strangely varie, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| That quickly we them lose. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And what 's quickly begot, | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| As soone againe is not, | 6 | ······ |
| This doe I truely know: | 6 | ······ |
| Yea, and what 's borne with paine, | 7 | ······· |
| That Sense doth long'st retaine, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Gone with a greater Flow. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet this Critick so sterne, | 6 | ······ |
| But whom, none must discerne, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor perfectly haue seeing, | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Strangely layes about him, | 6 | /˘···· |
| As nothing without him | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Were worthy of being. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| That I my selfe betray | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To that most publique way, | 6 | ······ |
| Where the Worlds old Bawd, | 5 | ····· |
| Custome, that doth humor, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And by idle rumor, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Her Dotages applaud. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That whilst he still prefers | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Those that be wholly hers, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Madnesse and Ignorance, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| I creepe behind the Time, | 6 | ······ |
| From spertling with their Crime, | 6 | ······ |
| And glad too with my Chance. | 6 | ······ |
| O wretched World the while, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When the euill most vile, | 5 | ····· |
| Beareth the fayrest face, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And inconstant lightnesse, | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| With a scornefull slightnesse, | 7 | ······· |
| The best Things doth disgrace. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Whilst this strange knowing Beast, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Man, of himselfe the least, | 6 | ······ |
| His Enuie declaring, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Makes Vertue to descend, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Her title to defend, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Against him, much preparing. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Yet these me not delude, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Nor from my place extrude, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| By their resolued Hate; | 5 | ····· |
| Their vilenesse that doe know; | 7 | ······· |
| Which to my selfe I show, | 6 | ······ |
| To keepe aboue my Fate. | 5 | ····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.